Phantasyland
by Danny Phantom SG-1
Summary: A collection of oneshots I have no desire to post on their own. Chapter Three - It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of their year, but a miraculous sort of destruction changes everything.
1. Disney World

**A/N: I finished my last semester of college and got a job at Disney World in the past year. That is a general update of myself because I haven't posted on this site in a year. Jolly good.**

**Expect nothing from this. Please. I just decided to start posting the random dumb things I write because, why not?**

* * *

_We're Going To...!_

"Come on; we can spring it," Danny said, trying to hide the hope in his voice.

"I don't know, man. We're already paying to fly all the way to Florida to go look at your defunct space shuttles…" Tucker reasoned.

"Which means we'll already be down there. We might as well go. I think it'd be fun," Danny replied, shrugging.

"Ugh, Danny," Sam – of course – butted her way in. "I do NOT need to spend an unreasonable amount of money just to go to the land of pink and purple and princesses. No, thank you."

He tried to keep the look of disappointment from his face by offering just a simple pout.

"I mean, it's up to you guys. It's your trip, too. I just thought…we don't get to go out much. We might as well take advantage of the time we have. Just the four of us," he said, nodded to his sister who sat in the corner writing up an entire itinerary of their vacation. "What do you think, Jazz?"

She looked up in confusion. "What? I'm sorry; I wasn't listening."

"Danny wants to go to Disney World," Tucker chimed in quickly, laughing mischievously at the glare he scored from his friend.

"Really?" this brought a smile to his sister's face. "Do you, Danny?"

He couldn't help the color that ran through his cheeks. "Well, I mean…I wouldn't _mind._ We're going to Florida anyway, right? And we haven't been there in _years_. It's the place to go. We can't say we went to Florida and didn't see the castle. I mean, it's classic! Come on!"

"It's overrated," Sam grumbled.

Danny rolled his eyes at her. "I'm just saying I wouldn't be opposed to spending a little extra if it meant taking a longer vacation from ghosts and spending more time with you guys in the vacation capital of the world."

They all exchanged glances, hesitantly mulling it over.

"I guess…I wouldn't mind," Jazz said, slowly going back to her computer screen. "It'd be a lot of extra money, but…you're right. We could spring it."

"Or Sam could spring it for me," Tucker said, batting his eyelashes at his best friend.

"Believe me, I could pay for everyone at that point," Sam muttered, looking down at her arms folded across her chest. "My parents would certainly be more than willing to pay for me and my friends to go somewhere where I'd be around bright, happy-colored princesses all day."

"So it's settled then!" Tucker shouted, throwing his arms in the air. "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!"

Jazz tried to suppress her laughter as Danny chimed in.

"Aw, geez, Sam. I don't want us to go if we're not all gonna have fun. But I don't think you have to dress _or_ act like a pretty princess to have a good time there."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, nudging her arm. "An ugly princess would do just fine."

"Tucker!" Danny shot his friend a glare that made him remember looks _could_ kill, and Tucker dodged underneath the table.

"No, I mean…" Sam sighed in defeat, looking up at the ceiling to escape the desperate eyes that begged her to relent. "I think…sure. We'd have fun. It's just…so…overrated. And happy and peppy and just…not where a Goth belongs."

"Psh," Danny waved a hand dismissively toward her, "please. There are plenty of places in Disney World that Goths love!"

"Yeah? Like where?"

"Like…like the Haunted Mansion! Right? Goths like that ride," he reasoned. "It's scary, it's dark, it's…"

"A supremely overrated attraction that portrays ghosts in a crude and totally unrealistic light," she deadpanned.

"Whoa, hey. It's not overrated – it's _classic_. And you can't expect amateurs like that to really capture the true essence of ghosthood. I'd defend that ride."

She simply shrugged it off. "Give me another one. One that's not so completely popular."

"Um…" Danny thought, racking his brain to remember their family trip ten years ago. "There's that…other scary ghost-y one…"

"Why are you just picking the ghost-y ones?"

"Well, uh, duh! What else did you expect from me?!" he looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Probably because it was.

"Well, which one do you mean?"

"That scary tower one…"

"Tower of Terror?" Jazz piped up, unable to hold her knowledge in for the sake of conversation any longer.

"YES, that! You'd love that ride. There's this elevator shaft, and there's ghosts, and everyone basically dies. That's like…the theme of the ride. That you're dead. Cool, right?"

"It'd probably be cooler if it wasn't a problem we actually, legitimately faced on a daily basis," she argued. "But I guess, if it's going to make you this ridiculously happy and excited to show it to me, it'd be worth going. Just to see that look on your face."

She couldn't help but smile through her bitterness as she saw his eyes light up in remembrance and desire to go.

"And I'll totally pay for it," she offered. "Ugh. I can't wait to tell my mother I'm going to Disney World. She will flip out and probably buy me a million tiaras and princess dresses just for the occasion."

Danny and Tucker were practically bouncing out of their seats with joy at this point, looking at each other with such excitement that the girls couldn't help but exchange glances and shake their heads.

"I can't wait to ride the new Test Track!" Tucker said, now speaking directly to Danny and already completely bound to the idea that they were going to go. "You can design your own car! How cool is that? BIG SPINNING RIMS. YES."

"And I can ride Mission Space," Danny said, his voice practically shaking with glee. "It's such a realistic simulator that they actually have little barf bags in there with you. It creates an effect on your body like they use at NASA…"

"That's charming," Sam gagged.

"I know, right?" he beamed at her.

"While we're on the topic of EPCOT, I wouldn't mind riding Spaceship Earth," Jazz agreed. "It's like a mini history lesson on the progress of humanity both socially and technologically. That's pretty cool."

The other three just looked at her for a moment before turning back to each other.

"What's your favorite ride, Tuck?" Danny asked.

"Um, Star Tours. Obviously," he said as if it were the most natural answer. "The technology used to create those random simulations? And the fact that it's Star Wars-based? I mean…techno geek here. Hello? What's yours?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Danny asked.

"Space Mountain," Sam answered for him, finally relenting and getting a little excited herself by feeding off of the boys' energy. "It's classic, it's fast, it's set in space - it's got Danny written all over it."

He smirked at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "See, Sam? This is going to be SO much fun."

She smiled and leaned against him. "I guess it could be. As long as you don't make me hang around with any princesses or anything."

"Are you kidding?" Tucker said, wiggling an eyebrow. "We are totally meeting _all_ of the princesses. And I'm giving them all my number. Just in case."

"I wouldn't mind a picture with Aladdin and Jasmine," Jazz agreed. "Dad would certainly appreciate a picture of Princess Jasmine with his little princess Jasmine…"

The collective "aww" that emitted from the other three nearly drove her from the room in embarrassment.

"Well, you and Tucker can go on your little princess-character quests, and Sam and I will just ride Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion all day. Yeah?"

"As long as you Fastpass Space. That line will be killer," Tucker said, whipping out his Disney app that he'd just that moment installed on his phone.

Danny laughed. "Of course. So we're really gonna do this?"

All eyes turned to the benefactor of the trip, and she sighed.

"Yeah, Danny," she said. "We're going to Disney World."

* * *

**No one will ever appreciate this fic, and that pains me inside. XD**

**I actually work at Under The Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid in Magic Kingdom at the moment, but I worked at Star Tours for seven months. You go, Tucker. Way to pick the best.**

**This fic is dumb, and I have no regrets. **


	2. Animal

**A/N: I have had this prompt sitting around for roughly two years, when sapphireswimming and I started our oneshot collections for the summer...which...I failed at, by the way. Oops.**

**So this is for her. I'm sure you appreciate that, my dear. So much.**

**Dark and disturbing. Ah. How I've missed that.**

* * *

_Animal_

It sat alone in the darkness, caged where it belonged. Chains held it back to protect the masters. Its eyes were red, and its heart beat furiously. It was as if it were rabid. Every noise aroused its attention, and it turned toward sounds with a growl and a heavy clanging of the restraints around its neck.

Suddenly, the loudest noise of all pervaded its cage, and it turned with intense curiosity.

The large metal door creaked as it opened, just the smallest sliver of light penetrating the creature's black home. Its pupils dilated immediately, and it turned its head once more, this time away from the movement and the noise, confusion overriding curiosity.

Two human figures stood in the doorway. One was familiar and held the dreaded clipboard. The other was different. He must be a new master.

A whimper escaped the muzzled mouth of the creature as the figures approached it. Lights began to turn on gradually, and the whimper turned into a growl. The darkness was its haven, its sanctuary. The light brought with it confusion and pain. It did not want either.

The low snarl would have escalated into a roar had the muzzle been any looser as the familiar man approached, a self-satisfied smirk gracing his face as always.

"Here," he said to his novice companion, "is our greatest exhibit."

The other man looked on in awe, his eyes full of fear and wonder as he listened to the continuous growl.

"That's not…is it? How did you…?"

"It's a highly classified possession, this one. Only top-ranking officials know it's even here – our most highly guarded secret. So let's hope you pass your assessment or…well, things won't turn out so well for you, either."

The man's voice sounded as sinister as the creature remembered, and the growl softened just a touch at the threatening tone. Fear brought it back down to a whine. Even the new man gulped in a shared sense of dread.

"No need to be afraid of it," the man with the clipboard went on lazily. "It knows its place…now. Took a long time…"

He trailed off, reading through the notes on his papers and cocking an eyebrow before turning to make eye contact with his animal. A slow, creeping smile spread across his face, and his eyebrows lowered as he saw the creature instinctually shrink back from him as far as its chains would allow. With no sense of hesitation, he reached out a hand and stroked the matted, white fur on the creature's head.

"A _long_ time," he noted. "But we got it eventually. Didn't we, pet?"

If the novice didn't know any better, he'd have sworn he saw tears building up in the red eyes as it tried to tug far, far away from the hand that brought with it unspoken, painful recollections.

"What…exactly did you do?" he ventured, biting his lip immediately after as though wishing he hadn't asked.

The professional didn't seem to mind, though. Giving one last achingly slow stroke to his creature's hair, he shrugged dismissively.

"The usual. Torture, drugs, threats. Anything to make it cooperate. It survived through so much, though, with its spirit still intact. We were beginning to think we'd found a ghost we couldn't break."

He let out a dark chuckle at that statement.

"But I knew…I knew everything has its breaking point. And this one…well, its weakness was always fairly obvious. So many people were against my theories, or at least against putting them into practice. Everyone knew there was only one way to break this one. But no one had the heart after seeing all it had survived. Their judgment was too clouded for them to realize that a ghost is a ghost. None of them are different. No matter how much they may pretend to be."

He took a needle out of his pocket and tested the syringe, making sure his creature saw every move. Its eyes widened with fear and the high-pitched whimpers returned. Even the novice took a step back, as though afraid for his own well-being.

"They're not human," he emphasized, placing the needle carelessly into the bruised skin of his ghost. "They're ghosts. They're animals. But worse."

The ghost shut its eyes, and its scream, though muffled, was deafening enough to shake the room. If the muzzle hadn't been on, both occupants would have been killed by its sheer power. The novice gripped at the slick, metal walls to find purchase, but settled with falling to the ground and covering his ears. He watched in horrified fascination as his mentor simply gripped tighter to the chains around his ghost, pulling at them as though he got a sadistic sort of pleasure out of inflicting further pain than was necessary.

"This one in particular. It's an abomination. A disgrace to all species. Worse than an animal," he seethed as though he had some personal vendetta against this voiceless, tortured being.

He drove another syringe of unidentifiable liquid into the creature, and it twisted and turned, unmistakable tears now streaming down its face. The novice was getting more and more uncomfortable by the moment, and one screeching sound brought him out of his terrorized paralysis long enough to whisper.

"Stop."

Though the ghost was screaming and the master was laughing at much higher decibels, all of them heard the soft plea from the novice, and all the noise stopped. All that was left was the heavy breathing of the creature and the clang of the chains as it sagged as close to the floor as possible.

The novice was shaking now as he stared at the creature. Blood was starting to run out of its nose and ears. Not ectoplasm.

Blood.

He shook his head in disbelief but turned in fear as the master made his way to him.

"What did you say?" he demanded lowly, his tone threatening. "Don't be like the others. Don't be weak."

"I—I'm not," he assured, swallowing back the terror that had built up in his throat.

"You're training to become part of an elite team of very few men who are brave enough to face this forsaken creature," he said, gesturing toward his tortured conquest. "Rule number one is to _never_ let anything get to you. It's all cold and calculated. It's nothing but an animal."

"But even animals…have rights. They're alive."

"Exactly," he said. "And this? It's not alive. Not even close."

The novice glanced again to see the blood running down its face and the staggered movement of its chest, trying to wrap his mind around it. But he needed this position. Dreamt of nothing but it for years. If this was what it took…

He nodded slowly, and the mentor held out his hand to help his trainee up from his spot on the floor. As he lifted him, the master pulled out another syringe from his pocket and placed it in the novice's hands.

"Prove it. It's your turn."

The man shook violently but gripped the syringe with calculated vigor. _It's not alive. It's just an animal. It doesn't even experience pain. It's not real._

He walked up to the figure that sagged against its chains and moaned beside itself. Slowly, he grabbed the creature's arm and almost ran the other direction as he felt muscles – unmistakably they were muscles – tense under his fingers. But the figure made no attempt to strike, and the novice made the crucial mistake of letting curiosity overtake him.

He looked into its eyes.

A stuttering breath entered his lungs as they made eye contact, an act that was forbidden by the rules of the establishment. Only the master could look into his pet's eyes because only he knew the truth without being fooled.

But there was something so_ real_ there in its gaze. So tired. So tortured. So true. So…

Human.

With this revelation, the novice gasped and took a step back, dropping his syringe. He could feel the tension in the air even as the creature crinkled its eyes in an otherwise unseen smile. It was not a smile of victory – it was a remnant of something solid and free.

But with the creature's relief came the master's scorn.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, his voice ugly and guttural.

"I—," a scientist all his life and he could barely find words. "I can't do it. I won't…I won't hurt him."

And something snapped.

It was like a cosmic beam shot down from the sky and struck all of the room's occupants. Something the man had said had been very, _very_ wrong.

But oh…so very _right._

The master, for the first time, bore a look of terror, and the creature's eyes, so full of humanity, lit up even more as he straightened in his chains. The novice was now shaking uncontrollably in fear of whatever had overcome his companions, and he watched in curious fascination as the ghost studied himself. He stared at his fingers, bound by unbreakable chains, and he gazed down at his emaciated, bleeding body. It was as if he were discovering himself for the first time before turning his gaze gradually toward the master.

"No," the familiar man whispered. "It. You're just an _it_."

The ghost squinted for a moment, looking as though the word sent a small shock through him each time.

And suddenly, everything made sense. The novice threw his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide with fear.

"You," the master said accusingly, "you've ruined ages of work. Ages of deprogramming. With one single word. The only thing you are absolutely forbidden to say."

The novice simply shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the ghost, who met his gaze with something akin to pity.

"You gave it a human association. A gender. Even the mere idea that this _thing_ might be more than an _**IT**_," he shouted, swooping toward the novice with yet another syringe in hand, "and you've ruined everything!"

The novice had no time to react, and the syringe was in his neck before he could scream. The ghost lunged forward, succeeding in breaking a single link in one of his many chains, as he tried in vain to stop this. But he could not, and he watched in continued agony as his one ally fell to the ground, dead before he hit.

Tears continued to fall from his eyes. Human emotions overcame him as he gasped at the revelation. He was a _him_. A person. Not an animal. Not a ghost.

A man.

The master growled aggressively and turned wild eyes toward his sobbing captive.

"Don't you dare think about it," he roared. "You're nothing. It was a slip of the tongue and nothing more. There is no truth in what he said. "

But the body that lay still on the ground in front of them told another story. Why murder for a slip of the tongue? No. It was true. And now he knew it.

As the master stormed out, dragging the novice's carcass before slamming the door behind him, Danny vowed that the other man's death would not be in vain. He'd proven he was more than an animal. He was a human. And he was going to escape from this monster's hell so no one else had to die to prove he was alive.

* * *

**I haven't killed anyone in a fic for so long. Muahaha.**


	3. Biannual

**A/N: I wrote this last week, right before I moved. And despite the fact that it's the third in this collection, it was the first fanfiction I'd written in over a year. And that, my friends, is why it reads so sloppily. Forgive it, for it knoweth not what it is.**

**Also Skulker and Danny broshipping into eternity; I don't even know why.**

* * *

_Biannual_

He awoke groggily, barely opening his eyes to the new day in his jumbled up life. Slowly, his mind still not working yet, he sat up and stretched before placing numb feet into a pair of worn out slippers.

Just another day…or night. He could never be quite sure in here.

He scuffled all the way out of his bedroom and into the meager excuse for a kitchen before it finally dawned on him.

His eyes shot wide open, and he couldn't help the corners of his mouth as they tugged upward.

Today was the day.

A laugh escaped his mouth, and his green eyes seemed to regain a bit of the life he'd so long ago left behind. Giddily, he pranced over to the calendar and circled the day – for the hundredth time – in red, for once not caring that his pen might run out of ink any time now.

He threw off his sweatpants right there in the kitchen and raced toward his room, ready to dress himself in normal, human clothes for the first time in months. Most days he settled with sweats or his usual ghostly jumpsuit all day long. It was all he needed anymore. But today…today was different.

He opened his closet, and the little ghost bats that flew out didn't even faze him (though they did, thankfully, phase _through _him). He grabbed his old, too-small-for-him T-shirt and jeans and took a good whiff, remembering the last time he'd worn them. They still smelled like her. Just a bit. But it had carried over for six months, as he'd hoped it would.

A knock at his door threw him into a nervous frenzy as he tossed the shirt over his head and hobbled out of his room, trying to stick his legs through his jeans and run at the same time.

"Coming!" he tried to sound normal but chipper. His voice rose in pitch about a thousand times in excitement, though, for what awaited him. Taking a deep breath right inside his door as he zipped up his pants, Danny nervously reached for the doorknob and pulled.

The stupid grin on his face and light in his eyes dulled, though, as Skulker cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What are you smiling about, whelp? Normally you're so lonely before I get here that Spectra could feed off of you from miles away."

Danny simply scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You must not remember what day it is, then."

Skulker thought for just a moment before it clicked.

"Has it been six months already? Huh. Time flies when you're dead, I guess."

"Yeah, well. Time drags when you're _not _dead, but the government considers you as such, and therefore banishes you from the human world," Danny deadpanned, opening his door just slightly more as an invitation for his friend to enter.

"Still bitter about that, I see," Skulker quipped.

"I will be until they fix it," Danny said needlessly. "I don't care if I'm only _half_ human; I'm still human. That gives me _human_ rights. I shouldn't be shunned from society and forced to live in the Ghost Zone."

Skulker yawned, more out of show than an actual feeling of lethargy. They went through this same routine every morning. He only went along with it because it gave him a certain sense of pride that the Ghost Child he'd always been after was finally trapped and caught somewhere. He liked to pretend it had been by his hand, so he frequented. Plus, it was a little nice to have someone intelligent to talk to since he had no more access to the human world, and the Box Ghost certainly wasn't going to provide him with sufficient conversation.

"So you always say," Skulker simply agreed.

Danny sighed, allowing himself a small chuckle of embarrassment. "Sorry to bore you. I know you hear this all the time, but…it's today, so I feel even more legitimized than usual in complaining."

Danny handed Skulker a cup of coffee, another of the reasons Skulker sometimes enjoyed swinging by. Despite the government's insistence that Danny was a ghost and therefore belonged solely in the Ghost Zone, they still provided him with food and drinks. Sure, he wasn't alive. But he still needed to eat.

Human logic. Pitiful.

Danny sighed again as he sat down on his couch next to Skulker, his hands visibly shaking as he held his mug.

"I'm so nervous. I mean, I'm so excited. I've been waiting for this day for six months. But I'm nervous."

"Couldn't tell," Skulker said, taking a sip.

Danny smirked as he watched him. "I'll never understand how you drink that through your suit."

"Never underestimate the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter."

Danny chuckled, deciding he was too nervous for the coffee and simply set it down on the table. He glanced around his apartment anxiously.

"It's a mess in here. Do you think she'll care?"

Skulker just looked at him.

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

Growing tired of hearing the Ghost Boy blather on about his nerves and his humanity, Skulker set his now-empty cup on the table next to Danny's and started to head out.

"Sorry to bore you!" Danny called after him, watching as the metal-armored ghost slipped out his door and closed it behind him, no more words exchanged. Ghosts were so one-track-minded and moody. Danny sighed as he tried not to dwell on the fact that 363 days out of the year, they were his only companions.

As Skulker walked back toward his own lair, he smirked as he spotted a character not native to the area. In fact, she wasn't even native to this _world_. But the ring on her left hand showed that she had a connection to it that even the human government couldn't deny.

The smirk left his face, however, when he noticed she was turned toward the wall and not moving. A stationary target was the least amusing kind, so he decided to provoke her.

"You should probably go in there so you can shut him up for me. He won't stop talking about you," Skulker said almost off-handedly to her.

Startled by the voice that she barely recognized anymore, Sam turned toward him with uncharacteristically fearful eyes, and…something else that was uncharacteristic.

Skulker's own eyes widened as he stared at her.

"Oh. Hm."

She just continued to eye at him nervously, unsure of what to say.

"Interesting," was all he said before continuing on his way, but not without one last glance back to her, almost as if he were sincerely curious.

She winced at his reaction, though his was not the reason she'd stopped right outside of her husband's apartment to try to collect herself. Taking a deep breath, she walked slowly toward his door – at least she hoped she remembered this being his door – and knocked. Er…she tried to knock. Being human in the Ghost Zone, her hand actually just phased right through. She almost laughed at her ignorance before just deciding to go for it all at once and step on in…

It felt odd being back here. Odd in an…almost good way. Good because it meant being with him. Even if this was…no. No need to think about it yet.

The subtle sound of phasing was all that caught his attention, but it was enough. He was sitting on the couch, and she held her breath as his head slowly turned toward her. Oh God. This was it. The moment.

Their eyes caught first. That familiar and wonderful electricity passed through them as they became reacquainted in an instant. But that instant passed too soon as his eyes inevitably drifted downward to the part of her he did not recognize.

"Sam?" he breathed, and she felt an aching warmth encompass her soul as he voiced her name. "Are you…is that…?"

"Yeah, Danny," she said. "I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened and shot back up to hers, and she almost laughed at the shock in them.

"Six months."

"B-but…how?" he asked, suddenly jumping to his feet and rushing over to her, as if he'd just realized he should probably greet his guest.

Tears of joy and remembrance filled her eyes as she watched him clumsily clamber over his furniture and stumble to her side. God, how she missed him. Every day.

"I guess certain things don't really work too well when your swimmers are sometimes ghost swimmers and can therefore phase through those certain things."

She almost laughed as the realization finally hit him.

"Damn," he said. "I didn't...oh God, wow…I had no idea."

"Neither did I. Obviously. Until I did."

Danny shook his head and began to smile. "So we're gonna be? And that's…?"

"Yes, Danny," she said softly. "It is."

But she didn't smile, and her heart broke as she watched his face contort through confusion, utter glee, and straight to despair in a matter of moments. She was hoping they'd be able to dwell on the good and the happy for awhile longer. But both were perceptive to the truth.

"But…we won't," he managed to choke out, "will we?"

She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying right then. There was so much more to tell, and this was only the most physically obvious of the changes coming to their lives.

"We should sit," she whispered. "We need to talk."

"Oh, geez! Yeah, of course! I'm sorry, Sam; here, sit over here," he guided her to his recliner, the one chair in the room that was actually corporeal so she wouldn't phase through – and what was usually his favorite seat in the house because it reminded him of home. Like she did.

She sat slowly, wanting to naturally berate him for the way he held her arm to keep her steady as she went down. She was not a fragile flower, she wanted to retort. But it had been so long since she'd felt his touch, soaked in his mannerisms, that she didn't have the heart to reprimand his chivalry.

He set her down carefully, and she let out a puff of breath as she took in her surroundings. Her husband was wearing the same shirt and jeans she'd last seen him in – his only human clothes, she knew – and everything about his "ghost apartment" seemed run down and tired. Looking into his concerned eyes, she noted, his apartment matched his demeanor. Broken, falling apart…

And only about to get worse.

Oblivious to the full extent of the implications of this surprise, Danny stroked her arm and smiled as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And, in a way, it was. At least, it should be.

"You okay, Sam?"

_No. _She bit back her immediate response with a reluctant nod and an attempt to smile at him.

"Yeah. You, uh…got anything to drink?"

_You'd better,_ she thought bitterly. _Or the government is going to be getting more of an earful than they already are._

"Oh, sure!" he said, scrambling toward the kitchen. "What do you need? Orange juice, soda, water?"

A variety. That's good.

"Just water, Danny. Thank you," she watched him fumble with a glass and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Subconsciously, she played with the ring on her left hand, stroking the diamond and wondering at how it was supposed to mean they'd be together forever.

Until everything got so messed up.

So much political effort began to concentrate on ghosts as they made their presence more prominent across the country and even the globe. The laws weren't fair yet. All humans were endowed with those unalienable rights, but _half _humans? It was a dumb and idiotic loophole that never should have even been considered, but when necessary to fill an agenda that forbade all ghosts from exiting the Ghost Zone lest they be immediately destroyed on sight in order to make the general public feel "safer"…

Though generally opposed to violence as she'd so often noted, Sam was ready to go to war for this. Unfortunately, the laws did not affect most people as much as they did her, and she therefore had few to fight as fervently on her side.

It was a long battle, and there was no end in sight. Which made this day – which was supposed to be one of the two best of the year – the absolute worst of her life. And she hadn't yet explained to him exactly why.

He brought her over the glass of water and handed it to her, now shaking even more violently than he had that morning. He muttered an apology as he spilled some on her, reaching instinctively to wipe it off her belly before pulling back as if a volatile bomb would go off should he get near.

She was struck again by how much she missed and ached for him.

"You can touch it," she reasoned. "It's not like it's gonna bite. Yet. Might kick me, though."

He released a weak laugh, staring intently at the unfamiliar roundness of her. It had been so long since he'd seen her. Six months exactly. And that's how long this little human…yes, _human, _he reminded himself…had been growing inside of her. It was astounding and frightening and amazing and terrifying, and he had to feel it. To know it was real.

He reached out tentatively, and her eyes softened at his gentleness, moving in ever so slowly and pulling back every few inches to make sure it was the sweetest touch she'd ever felt from him. And, oh. It was. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of Danny's hand tenderly caressing the wonderful – and horrible – thing they'd, however accidentally, made together.

"I can't believe this," he whispered. "I mean I…I can't believe this."

She almost lost herself in the moment. Almost got close to pretending this was real. That this was her husband simply stroking her stomach in admiration of the fact that it held their child. That tomorrow he'd be around to do the same thing. That in three months, he'd be able to hold the actual product of all this pain and effort…

She almost believed it.

"Danny," she breathed, feeling his hand stray from her stomach and move slowly up her body in a way she'd longed for so much throughout this ordeal. "Don't. We…we have to talk."

It felt like the most painful sentence she'd ever uttered, especially as he immediately drew his hand and his sweet, soft touch away from her. It would only get worse from here. But she had to tell him today. There was no choice.

"Danny, sit down. Please."

Sensing her sorrow, he pulled up a chair right next to the recliner and reached out a hand to stroke her cheek.

"What? What's wrong? I mean…besides the obvious things?" he noted painfully.

"Danny, I—" she cut herself off and stared with glassy eyes into his intent green ones. Oh God. She couldn't do this. "I don't know where to start."

He let out a short breath and looked back at her stomach, the visage of wonder and awe never leaving him. "Well. I mean, I know you guys are still fighting those laws, and they'll eventually change. I really believe that," he noted confidently. "But for now, we'll just have to make do with these bi-annual visitations. It's not the best scenario, but I'll do anything you need. I don't quite know how I'd…support you or give you anything aside from those days since I can't have outside contact aside from you. But we'll figure out something. And this baby will be a part of my family now, so they'll have to give him…her…er…whatever the right to see me too. Yeah? Until we're together again?"

He sounded so dejected but so hopeful, and it tore her apart inside to see the way his eyes glistened as he looked straight through her.

Oh, Danny…

"I wish," she whispered, "it were that simple."

He swallowed visibly and she wondered if it was nerves or fear or both. She suddenly felt ill, but she had to.

"Danny. I love you. I love you so, so much," she said, a single tear slipping from her eye, only to be caught by his gentle hand. "But this…today…is the last time I can see you. For a long, long time."

_Maybe ever. _She tried not to think.

She could see his heart drop. His warm breath stopped caressing her face as he ceased to breathe. She closed her eyes tightly and bit her tongue, fighting back more tears in an effort to stay calm for him.

"Wh-what?" he asked, confusion written plain across his features.

She breathed a heavy sigh and stared at the ceiling, unable to face the horrifying ache reflected in his eyes.

"If the government finds out," she began, "they will take it. And they will put him in here. Away from people. Away from the world. Away from life. The way they've kept you here. Or they might just flat out…destroy it. For being in the human world…"

She finally moved to look at his eyes as they darkened with realization.

"He won't have rights. The way you don't. And I…I can't let that happen to our child, Danny. I know it was not solely my decision to make because he's yours too, but…I didn't exactly have many options."

"It's a boy?" he asked suddenly, interrupting her. "And what are you…what do you mean? What wasn't your choice…?"

She tried to smile. "Yes. It's a boy. But, by official government standards…it's not yours."

His heart sank once more. "What?"

"I told them…when they noticed, they asked. You know how they are, always keeping tabs on us. They wanted to run DNA tests, so I panicked. And I told them…I told them it wasn't yours. To protect him. I told them that I…had an affair. I'm sorry, Danny. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know what else to do. I was so scared."

She started crying, sobs wracking her whole body, and Danny immediately jumped up to hold her, wrapping his arms around her and stroking her back, even as his mind raced.

"Shh, don't, don't," he said. "You did the right thing; you're just doing what you had to do. Don't cry, Sam, please. I've lied to save people more times than I can count, and this is no different. Come on, Sam, please."

She kept crying, though. But she bit back her sobs so she could continue. It had to all come out at once or she'd never be able to say it again.

"I had to tell them that I…I didn't love you anymore. That there was no way this was yours. So they said," she sniffled, "that today…today had to be our last time. Just to finalize everything."

She felt him stiffen at that, but he continued to stroke her encouragingly.

"Today, I have to break up with you. Divorce you. Get on with my life because I can't raise a child and have a ghost husband. It's always been unorthodox and unnatural anyway…"

The words were bitter in her mouth, and she gagged.

"So," he whispered, rationalizing out loud as he always did, "if you told them the truth, they'd either take the baby away or…worse. And with this lie...the baby will be free to live his life with you, but I…I'll never get to see you. Or him. Ever again?"

She felt the despair in his words, and she wanted to crush every demon that had entered their lives to destroy them.

"Until we get the laws changed, this is the only way," she said, pulling out of his now-limp arms. "It was protect this baby or go on living a half-life with you…"

He winced at the words, and she immediately regretted them.

"I know this was supposed to be a happy day," she said, stroking his face as tears now began to fall from his own eyes. "And we were supposed to be together and love and laugh and act like we have the happy, normal marriage that we're supposed to. But everything is so _wrong_."

His face fell heavily into her touch, and his words came out thickly.

"I'll lose everything," he whispered. "You're my only tie to home. To life. To hope. I'm afraid, if I lose you…if I lose this baby…"

"Don't, Danny," she breathed.

"I'll lose it all."

The words hung ominously between them, and she tried so hard to push away the implications of that. To lose his tie to life and hope. What would he become? Would he…actually belong here…?

"We're still going to fight this, Danny," she said. "We'll get it set right."

"We've been trying for over a year now," defeat rang clear in his voice. "And now, with them believing you…you don't even love me anymore. That you'll have moved on…what need would there be to fight to bring me back?"

She shook her head and bit her lip, tasting water and salt. She wished she had an answer. She wished she could just kiss him hard on the mouth right there, and then everything would magically go back to normal. In fact, she grabbed his face and pressed her lips against his quiet ones just to see. He tasted so familiar, so warm, so perfect. But he was so lost and forlorn that he barely responded to her. She felt his hand on the back of her neck, and her heart leapt into her throat as she moved toward him desperately. But he pulled away from her before she could continue, and she watched as his head sagged toward his chest and unabashed sobs wracked his form.

"I've lost so much. My family, my friends, my life. And now, I…I have to lose _you_. And my…my _son_," he reached out again and clung to her belly like it was the anchor of his world. "My son that I never even knew…will never know…"

"Danny, please, don't," she said, almost frustrated and grabbing his face. "Don't lose hope. We're going to fix this. It will be all right."

She felt icy fear grip her heart as she stared down into his green eyes and noted the lack of light – of life – in them anymore.

"Please, Danny," she muttered, closing her eyes to block his out and leaning her forehead against his.

In her self-imposed darkness, she once again fumbled with her ring. Her connection to him. She was not permitted to return with it. But it still held a purpose.

She practically wrenched it from her finger and sobbed at its absence before opening her eyes and pulling Danny's lifeless ones to meet her gaze. She grabbed his hand and placed her wedding ring squarely in his palm before using both of her hands to wrap his fingers around it.

"Promise me you won't give up, Danny. Promise."

She watched and held her breath as she saw the nuances in his gaze shift. The light of his soul bounced back and forth as he struggled, and his hand shook against hers. He didn't break promises. And he'd never denied her request for one. It was hypocritical, she realized, as she was currently breaking the biggest promise they'd ever made to each other. But if he promised…

"I promise," he relented, his eyes growing somehow sadder.

And even though it was completely illogical and stupid, she felt a wave of relief crash over her. If he promised…she knew she'd see him again.

Someday.

Somehow.

And that was it. The rest of the day was a blur. Love and goodbyes. Promises reinforced. A most dreaded final parting, and it was over. Danny wanted to relent. To give in to the darkness threatening to encompass his soul, but every glance at the silver wedding ring on his table reminded him, and he didn't. And he wouldn't. No matter how many times he had to wake up feeling the ache of never knowing; no matter how many mornings he had to muddle through by talking to a ghostly neighbor who couldn't relate…he wouldn't give up.

Because he promised.

* * *

**Danny don't break no promises, yo. Also, ew, get the cliche Danny/Sam off of me; I need some Grey Ghost to make up for this...**


End file.
